94th Hunger Games
by Envy-0w0
Summary: I have created my own characters and are putting them into the arena for the 94th hunger games. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch have gotten to old to be mentors so these two are on their own. This is my first fanfiction to be published so go easy on me. Rated T just in case. let me know what you think so far. Let me know what i could do to make it better. Hope you like it :)
1. The Reaping

I jump as an icy wave hits my face. I sit up, throwing the blankets off of me and gasping. "Up and at 'em." I hear my older sisters voice. I look over and see her holding a bucket dripping with water and throw my flat pillow at her. She dodges it and glares at me.

"Don't throw things at me. It's time to get up. We have to be in the square in less than an hour."She stomps away and I hear a door slam. I swing my legs over the edge of my small bed. Shivers run through my body as my feet hit the cold floor of my small, hut-like home.

I can not believe I almost forgot. Today is the day of the reaping. My name is only in five times this year. I don't need to worry. My sister on the other hand, she is in thirty-six times this year. She always signs up for extra grain and oil. District twelve hasn't won the hunger games for years. The last time someone got out was over twenty years ago. Their names were Katniss and Peeta. I haven't met them but I hear they were nice people. My sister used to talk to them before the 75th games.

I stand up slowly and take down my hair from its tight, messy bun. I walk over to the small, dusty mirror that we have and brush out my hair. I pull my long, dark brown hair up and re-knot it into it original bun. When I'm done, I look at myself in the cracked mirror. I'm nothing special, brown, waist length hair, brown eyes, thin, ordinary size bust for a 16 year old. I turn away and slip into my tight jeans and my white tank top. Most people dress up for today but I have never dressed up for anything. I don't like dresses or getting my hair done. It's to much work and extremely uncomfortable. As I walk to the door I grab my light brown leather jacket and start lacing up my boots. The fur on the inside thaws my frozen feet. Once I'm done I grab a roll. As usual it's stale and cold. As I walk down the snow covered road I gnaw on the crust of the week old bread. My sister is already at the square when I go to the lady that pricks my finger to check me in and I go to my spot. I don't get to stand with my sister because she is 18 this year and I'm only 16.

As people fill the rows the peacekeepers patrol and keep order. I hear somebody scream and turn to see a little girl holding onto her mother and crying as a peacekeeper tries to pull her away.

"Hey!" I hear myself yell as my legs start to work without my say so. I run over to the girl and push the man off her. I feel a sharp pain across my face as the mans hand snaps across my face. Once he is done I lean down to the girl. "Are you twelve this year sweety?" I ask quietly. The girl nods in response and I rest my hand on her shoulder. "OK. Well then your name is only in there once, you probably wont get chosen to go but if you do, I swear I will volunteer for you. OK?"

She nods and kisses my cheek. I smile and stand to glare at the peace keeper but he is gone. As I walk to my spot a girl walks onto stage. I listen as she gives the same speech that they give every year. The only difference is that last year it was a girl names Effie Trinket. This girl had the same strange clothing that all the people from the capitol wore. Hers was bright yellow with real flowers all over her. I swear I could smell her from here. Her shoes were clear and looked like glass. Her hair was big with yellow ribbons strung through it.

Finally, after a long introduction, speech, and video, we get to the actual reaping of names. I can't say I was excited but I just wanted to get this over with. I don't want to see the families or the tribute. I always look away, always. As the woman announce "Ladies first!" she puts her hand into the bowl. The papers go up to her elbow but she keeps reaching. I suddenly get worried about the girl from earlier. What if they do pick her name? Then what? I'll have to keep my promise even if it does mean my death. I can feel my heart beat faster and faster in fear and worry.

As she pulls out the small paper the crowed goes still as parents worry about their children, siblings worry about siblings, and children worrying for their own lives. The crowed is so quiet that I could hear the deer running in the forest from across the district. The girl next to me looks like she is going to pass out. As the woman, Ethel, as I now know her, says the name loud and proud. "Jennifer Taylor!"

My heart drops, my mind goes blank and I don't move until the peace keeper comes and takes my arm roughly. Ethel smiles at me and waves at me to come up and as I pass my sister she looks down and away. I stare at her in shock but keep walking. As I climb the stairs to my death all I can think is, _At least is wasn't one of the younger girls._

In a haze I hear the other name called. The boy's name is Vincent Cane. He was a twelve year old boy with sandy blond hair and brown eyes. When I turned my head to see him those eyes were full of tears and fear. Silently I promise to protect him and get him out of the slaughterhouse. I walk over and take the boys hand. He jumps a little but hold tight to me. I look down and feel tears fill my eyes. He reminds me so much of Erick, my younger brother. Two years ago he died of hypothermia when he fell in the frozen lake.

I look away before the tears fall and look out at the crowd. My sister still won't look at me and everyone is silent. Ethel puts her hand on my shoulder and guides us into the building. We go to our separate rooms and wait to say goodbye to anyone that might come. I hear Vincent and his mother crying on the other side of the wall but no one comes to say goodbye, but it's OK. I didn't expect her to come. She only puts up with me and its not like mom can get out of bed. She's to sick. Dad died years ago and I don't really have any friends so no, I wasn't expecting anyone.


	2. On the Train

As we get on the train Vincent holds my hand. He is still crying when we feel the lurch telling us that the train has started moving. I sit down in the round, plush seats and hold Vincent on my lap as he cries. All I can do is run my fingers through his hair and rock him slowly. I look around at the luxurious interior of the train. The seats are soft and there is silver and glass everywhere. There is a silver cart with glass bottles full of brightly colored liquid and a glass table covered in pastries and desserts that don't really look edible because they are so brightly dyed and decorated.

I look out the window at the blurred landscape and lay my head back to think. I know we don't have a mentor this year so I will have to learn something on my own. I know how to throw a knife but that's it. I'll have to learn about some herbs and how to build a fire. I know I will have to get enough food and water to help Vincent too, but if it came to it, could I really take someone's life? I couldn't even hurt an ant hill when I was little. My best chance would be to hide somewhere with him and wait until everyone else starves to death or kills each other.

I also have to think about the game makers. Their job is to make the games exciting and some girl and little boy sitting in a small cave or tree is not exciting. We all know the game makers manipulate the arena and what happens in it. They could send wild dogs after us like in the 74th games or flood the whole arena with a rain storm.

"OK you two! Time for dinner! And then we can see the other tributes!" Ethel's cheery voice breaks through my thoughts like a wrecking ball through a brick wall. I snap out of it with a jump, waking Vincent who had apparently fallen asleep on me. We both stand up and my stomach makes a gurgling sound that mimics Vincent's stomach.

"You sound hungry so lest go eat!" she says before leaving the car. We follow her into a huge dining car with red velvet chairs, a dark cherry wood table, and a crystal chandelier. The table is covered in delicate glass plates and glasses with beautiful silver forks, knives, and spoons. I slowly walk to my chair, taking in everything around me. When I sit people start coming out of the next cart with trays of food. More food than I have ever seen, let alone eaten. I stare as they place at least twenty trays on the table each piled high with different foods that look delicious.

I look over to see Vincent's plate full and him reaching over some foods to grab others and stuff his face with whatever he grabs. I smile a little and grab a roll from a basket and spread some butter on it. When I sink my teeth into it my mouth explodes with flavor. The bread is soft, warm, and its not even close to stale. I have to say bread has always been my favorite food but this was something completely new! I reach for another and another. Before I know it I have eaten six rolls. I take thick cut of beef and some white, creamy stuff that Ethel called mashed potatoes. I cover all of it in a delicious sauce called gravy. These foods were so strange to both of us and we couldn't stop eating it.

Before we knew it we were laying down with massive stomach aches. Vincent has been laying on the floor moaning for about twenty minuets now and I have been laying in silence on a couch. Ethel comes and sits on a chair by my head and looks at me. "You don't talk much...you will have to change that if you want to get sponsors." she looks down at Vincent and smiles. "I have a son at home his age. I can't imagine what his parents are going through and I am so sorry about what he will go through."

I open my eyes and for the first time since my father died I start speaking my mind. "This whole thing is sick. These people make me sick. How could they enjoy watching kids kill each other? What kind of twisted mind do you have to have to enjoy that? He shouldn't be going through any of this and neither should I. I don't have any skills. How am I supposed to protect myself let alone him?"

She stays silent when she hears that. I look up at her and apologize for my outburst. She only shakes her head and stands up. "We have a news broadcast to watch. Lets see who you two are up against." with that she turns and leaves the room and I swear before she left I saw a tear streak down her face, taking some of the white powder with it.

I stand, my stomach growling in protest, and pick up Vincent. I carry him to the car at the end with a big TV. We sit in front of the flat screen and watch as a man with bright green hair and eyebrows announces the tributes as the reaping shows in the corner of the screen.

"From district one our tributes are William and Rose. They specialize in hand to hand combat.

From district two we have Micheal and Amanda. Next we have Marilyn and Joseph from district three..."

I zone him and the tributes out. I can't look at these people anymore. Ones of these people will be taking my life. I hear Ethel talking to us but she sound like she is miles away. I come back to when I hear her gasp in surprise and Vincent make a sound of disgust. I look at the screen in time to see a handsome boy that looks about seventeen. He has shaggy jet black hair and bright green eyes. I look at him forgetting everything from the pain in my stomach to the fact that I'm on a train to hell but just as fast as the picture appeared, it changed to a girls photo. "Who was that?" I ask almost in a whisper.

"His name is Eric. He is from district eleven. Haven't you been paying attention Jennifer?" she says with a scolding look. I shake my head a little and stand up. I say goodnight to the two and go to my room. I strip down to my bra and panties and get goose bumps as the cold air hits me. I quickly crawl into the bed and I'm instantly warm with the soft sheets wrapping around me and the cloud like pillow under my head. The last thought in my head before I drift off into a dark oblivion is how handsome Eric is.


	3. First Event in the Capitol

I wake up to Vincent sitting on my chest, poking my cheek. I smile and push him over. He falls onto the side of the bed and giggles like a child. "Look outside! It's huge!" he yells, taking my hand and trying to pull me to the window.

"OK. OK. I'll be there in a second. Just let me get dressed."

He nods and runs out of the room. I slip on the same outfit as yesterday and re-knot my messy bun. Slowly and dazed I leave my room and find the child I have grown so attached to. When I walk into the dining car he grabs me and drags me over to the window.

"Look! Look!" He says enthusiastically. When I look out the window I see an enormous white city shimmering in the morning sun. The building looked like they could touch the clouds or I could touch them if I stood at the top. The tallest one was right in the center. I couldn't see the top because it was covered by the low clouds. As we pull into the station there is a sea of people cheering and snapping pictures. Ethel takes our hands and escorts us off the train. We gradually nudged our way through the crowd while smiling while reporters snap pictures and answering questions. Vincent held onto my hand with an iron grip and waved at everyone. I could feel him shaking though and we were thankful when we finally made it to the building where we would be staying.

Ethel takes us up to the 12th floor and we have lunch in a huge dining room with glass everything. There is a glass table, chairs, plates, even roof. It looked like the sky was right above us of course this was only the dining room like that. The rest of our floor is normal. After the more than filling lunch, Ethel takes us to our stylist. "We get a stylist?" I ask.

"Of course you do. You need to look nice to get sponsors." Ethel answers as she shows Vincent into a room with three strange looking people. I didn't get a good look at them but I knew they were in bright colors. As we walk down the hall silently I can't help but wonder what exactly they need to do to me. As I open the door that she showed me to, three people welcome me. The girls are in the exact same outfit except two different colors. There hair is in huge ringlets, their shoes are at least six inches off the ground and both dresses were covered in bright, flowing feathers. Their faces were white and with makeup to match their dresses and jewelry too. The only guy on the other hand was mostly normal. He has on black slacks with a white shirt and a black jacket on. When he moves the jacket and pants shimmer purple and his eyes are lined with glittering purple. "Come in! Come in!" the girls say to me.

I walk in, closing the door behind me and they get to work. They lay me down on a table and start putting warm, white strips of cloth on my legs and plucking my eyebrows. I start to ask what the cloth is for, but before I can they rip it off and I wince in pain. "You could have warned me that would hurt." I say a little louder than I intended. It did no good though. All three just told me to quiet down and went back to work. After waxing every hair off my body from the chest down they sit me up and get to work on my hair. When they take out the bun my hair fell down around me, stopping at my waist. They all gasp and I have to admit, it was pretty funny. They all murmur to each other and then start cutting away. When they are done they turn me around and I'm stunned speechless. I can hear all three of them telling me how nice I look and how beautiful they will make me for the upcoming ball.

They had shortened my hair too about two inches past my shoulders and added layers. My head feels so much lighter and not as tight as before. I run my finger through my hair feeling how soft it is after they washed it and blow dried it. They even added some highlights. As I look at myself in the mirror, I can't believe it's me. I feel a smile pulling at the corners of my lips and hug all three of them, thanking them over and over again.

After all of that, they just put me in jeans and a t-shirt with a pair of new boots. They even pin my hair back up in a tight bun. I already miss my hair being down so I turn and ask, "Why did you go through all that and then just put me back to normal?"

"There will be a feast for all the tributes tonight. They want you to look as normal as possible when you meet your fellow tributes." The girl I now know as Kate.

"Oh." is all I can manage. That is more than disappointing.

"Don't worry though!" the man, John, says.

"There is a ball tomorrow night so you can start getting sponsors, you also have a parade so everyone who wasn't at the ball can see you and start picking tributes to sponsor and you need to dress up for the interview the night before the games so there will be plenty of time to dress up!" the other girl, Kathy finishes. I don't like the thought of going all out but at the same time I liked how I turned out today even if the process sucked so maybe I'll like it tomorrow. At least the waxing is over.

There is a knock on the door and Ethel and Vincent are there ready to take me to the feast. At that moment is when it hit me that we had been in here from noon until 7:00 p.m. I had spent seven hours redoing my look just to look normal. That really sucks.

As we walk down the hall, Vincent and Ethel are talking about what kind of food will be there and how to make sure the other tributes like him. He won't have any trouble though. He's cute and nice and the only twelve year old in this year's games.

We make it to large mahogany doors and a man in a white suit opens the door for us. When we step in everyone is already there and the room is in an uproar. Twenty-two people are sitting at a long table laughing and talking, there is a small band playing, and there are two seats empty. I look around at the other tributes and make my way with Vincent to our chairs. As I get closer I realize there is only one person staying quiet, and he sits next to me.

I pull the chair out for Vincent to sit and he is the only one that seems to notice us. After pushing him in, I sit in my chair. I take a sideways glance at the silent boy next to me and suck in a breath. It's Eric. I quickly look away and start helping myself and Vincent to the food. As he reaches across to grab some bread his elbow hits his glass cup and sends it shattering to the floor. Once its broken into a million pieces people start settling down. They all look over at us and I feel my face flush. Vincent, succeeding in getting his bread, doesn't even notice the glass is at his feet. He just starts stuffing his small mouth with the food he has. I mumble my apologies, get up from the chair that squeaks on the hard floor. The scrape sound like a gun going off in the silence. I get down on my knees and start scooping the glass shards into a pile and putting them in a napkin. Slowly, people start their conversations back up and I finish cleaning.

When I stand up my hands itch and burn from all the microscopic cuts covering the surface of my skin. I set the cloth full of sharp glass on the table and sit back down as quietly as I can. When I start grabbing food I get a weird feeling and look up to see Eric staring at me with a cold yet curious look. My eyes widen a little and I cant look away from those big green eyes. Reluctantly, I grab a roll. As I pull my hand back I slowly look away and start ripping small pieces of bread and eating them after dipping them in butter.

After a while of observing the others and listening to pieces of their conversation I notice everyone has a red animal with claws. It has a big tail and what look like antennae. My face must have been a question mark because Eric looks over at me and takes some meat out of it, dropping it on my plate. "It's a lobster. They're good. Try it."

"Thanks." I say, not knowing what else to say. My mother and sister used to talk about these but I have never seen or tastes one. They would talk about how good they were but they are hard to get so of course we never had any. I poke the meat with my fork and put it in my mouth. I feel the corners of my lips twitch up in a small smile and I see Eric smile out of the corner of my eye. Instantly my head turns and I look at him. "What?" I ask. He just puts some more of the lobster in his mouth and shakes his head. After a minuet he answers.

"You really haven't had a lobster before?"

"No." I feel my face get warm. "They are hard to get."

"I'm Eric." he says to me.

"I know. I'm Jennifer but you can call me Jen or Taylor. Your choice. This is Vincent." I answer, gesturing to the child next to me with food all over his face.

"Taylor?"

"Last name."

"Ah. Ok the Taylor. I came with a girl from my district. Her name is Lauren."

I look next to him and there is a girl there that looks kind of tipsy. She has a tall glass of something yellow.

"What is she drinking?"

"The equivalent of whiskey. Shes had about three glasses."

"OK. You might want to cut her off." I answer as he looks over and sees her flirting with one of the lobsters. He takes the drink from her slowly. I laugh a little when she doesn't notice. He takes a sip and hands the glass over to me. I swirl the drink in the glass a little as he looks at me, waiting for me to take a drink.

"Uh, I don't drink." I say shyly.

"It'll take the edge off of all these games. Might as well have a drink before we all lose our life right?"

I contemplate this for a minute then finish off the drink in my hand. It burns going down my throat and I swear I feel it hit my stomach, but once it's down I actually do feel a little better. I look over at him and he has a drink of his own. He sips on it as I try a pie that sits on the table in front of me. I always see these in the bakery windows and they always smell so good. I'm glad I could try some before I died. _Wait. _I think to myself. _Why am I thinking like this? I shouldn't be accepting death. I'm going to fight until the bitter end! _

"What?" I hear from next to me. I look over and a girl from district ten is sitting there looking at me confused. I realized I had been making facial expressions to match what I said to myself.

"Nothing." I say feeling heat rush into my face like a wave. She looks away and I finish my slice of pie. I listen in to other tribute's conversations. The girl from district one, Rose, flirting with the boy from district ten while William glares at him. _Poor guy._ I think. I switch my attention to the boy from district seven. I forgot his name but he is a bigger person. He is swallowing any food he can get his hands on without chewing. I see the girl from district seven looking away and honestly ashamed that he is here with her. The girls from district two, three, four, six, and even lauren are trying to get Eric or any other guy's attention. I notice a little blond head poke up from the other end of the table. I stiffen as I see little Vincent interrupting Rose's flirting to ask for a piece of chocolate cake. She smiles down at him and so does that half of the table. She hands him a plate with the cake and he is still standing there.

Before he comes back over he gets another slice. The others go back to chatting and Vincent comes over to me and hands me the cake. I have never had any before but I have seen it before in the bakery. I thank him and take a small bite. Vincent is sitting next to me and smiles when he tastes the slice of heaven. I'm about to ask him how he likes it when I hear a high pitches voice from across the table talking to me. I look up and see Rose looking down the table

"Is he your brother or something?" she had asked.

I decide to answer honestly and try to get someone to be on our side. "No. he isn't related to me but I did help raise him. His family didn't have a place to stay after his father died so he stayed with my sister and me."

"Well that's sweet. He really is a cute kid. Vincent was is?"

"Yes?" his small, boyish voice comes from next to me.

"I'm truly sorry you got reaped." she says as everyone nods in agreement.

"It's OK. I'm just glad it wasn't anyone with siblings and a full family." he says with an adorable smile. Some of the girls start to tear up and the guys smile at him. I'm glad they like him. Maybe even if I don't he will make it out. Eric passes me a plate with another slice of pie on it.

When I go to ask Vincent if he would like some I see he is sound asleep with his head on the table. I smile to myself and pick him up. He wraps his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist. As I carry him out of the loud room I realize that he is very small for a twelve year old. He is also very child like. I shrug it off and bring him to his room where I tuck him in and start walking the halls of the building.

When I get down to the first floor I hear someone singing at the top of their lungs coming toward me. I turn around a see William from district one stumbling down the hall, tripping over his own feet. I shake my head and keep walking when he calls out to me.

"Hey! You! Girl over there! Come here!" he yells. When I turn back I see he is leaning against a wall and waving me over. After thinking about it for a second I decide not to. I get in the elevator that is between us and just as the doors start to close he slips through. A sigh escapes my lips and he steps forward until he is close to me. In response, I step back and when he gets close my hear starts to race like and engine in a car at full speed. I feel the cool metal of the wall on my back and his hands slam against the wall just by my head. I feel his body press against me and he reeks of alcohol. I turn my head away in disgust when he breathes. He runs his fingers through my hair and looks at me, his eyes completely blank. As I hear the elevator ding he grabs my breast and slams his lips against mine.

Before my mind works I feel my fist collide with his face. He stumbles back and falls on his butt against the doors. As the doors open I feel my body flood with anger. William falls back when the doors no longer support him. With a huff I step on his chest and walk out of the small room where my first kiss was stolen.


	4. First Day of Training

As I walk into my room I notice the clock on the night table. It's almost 1 a.m. I groan and fall face first onto the bed. I don't even bother getting into something more comfortable. As I bury my face in the cloud like pillows I worry about tomorrow. In about six hours I will be woken up for a quick breakfast and be taken to the training room and then around seven that night I will be taken back up to get ready for the ball.

I curl my body around one of the pillows and finally for the first time since they called my name, the first time since cameras and people have been in my face, I let the tears fall. I think about how I will never see my sister again and how she didn't even look at me when my name was called. What kind of sister wouldn't even come to say goodbye? I squeeze the pillow as I think about poor little Vincent who will probably never get to see the birth of his newest sibling. I let myself cry until my eyes and head are throbbing from dehydration. I let myself silently sob myself to sleep in the marshmallow bed and cloud pillows.

I wake up the next morning without opening my eyes. My scenes come back one by one. First, I hear the knock at the door, next, I am aware of the mattress under me covered in soft blankets that I pull around myself, I can then taste the slight burn of leftover alcohol still in my throat. I can smell breakfast being made outside my door and finally I pry my eyes open to a bright, sunny morning. They burn from all the tears I shed lest night.

"Jennifer. It's time to get up and ready for the day." I hear Ethel's voice like a bird song from the other side of the door.

"I'm up." I say, rolling off the bed and realizing that I forgot to take off my shoes before I went to bed. I shrug and walk out the door. The smell of meat and eggs wharfs it's way to me. My stomach doesn't growl for the first time ever but I walk to the table and pile my plate with eggs, bacon, and hash browns. A woman pours me a glass of apple juice and offers me a pastry. I take a crescent shaped one and spread butter over it. Ethel and the stylists walk in as little Vincent and I are in the middle of eating. Before we are done they take us to our separate rooms and put us in lose, gray sweat pants and me in a skin tight, black t- shirt with my hair tied up in a pony tail and Vincent in a lose, black t-shirt. We tie our sneakers and head down to the training room. When the doors open the room is how I pretty much expected it. There are mats everywhere and weapons on one wall. In a corner there is camouflage and fire making. In another corner is where you can learn about the different plants. In the middle is hand to hand combat.

Vincent runs right over to the weapons and tries to take a big knife but an older lady stops him and takes it for him. Before I can walk over she starts teaching him how to use it. That was when I noticed that almost everyone was paired with a personal trainer. I walk over to the weapons wall and take down a mean looking blade. The whole knife from the handle to the tip of the blade is about a foot long.

I know how to use a knife so this should be OK. I can't throw a knife like the girl from district two and I don't know how to fight someone with just my hands so I pick up another knife identical to the one I already have and hold them so the two blades are facing the same way. When I start to practice I realize people are watching me. I stop what I'm doing and look back at them. They all turn away and go back to training except one boy, the tribute from district four, comes up to me and glares at me. "Wanna practice together?" he asks. I decide quickly that I need to get allies so I nod and put the knives back. "What do you want to practice?" I ask when I walk back over. Before I have time to blink he throws a punch right for my face. I move my head to the side but not quite quick enough.

I feel a stinging line on my cheek and when I touch it, it burns more. I wince, taking my hand away and there are drops of blood on my skin. I glare at him and turn, walking away. He laughs a little and I hear him walking away. I grab a pair of brass knuckles and put them on both hands knowing that my punch isn't very effective on it's own. When I turn back he's still on his way back to his friends. I run at him, grab his shoulder, and spinning him around, I throw a punch strait for his neck. He drops to the ground holding his throat. "Come on! Get up! You can't start a fight and not finish it jackass!" I yell down at him.

He swings a leg out and the next thing I know I'm on the ground. He is on top of me and punches my face along my jaw line. I feel my jaw swell up but as he pulls his hand back I see a figure running to us. I wrap my legs around the guy's waist and grab his shoulders. I flip him and pin him down and I hear a few guys whistle, but I ignore it. I ball my fists into his shirt and lift him up only to slam him on the ground, hard. His head makes a satisfying crack as it hits the mats. I pull back my hand and slam the brass into his lip and when I pull back again there is an iron grip keeping me from punching him again.

When I turn my head to see who it was I turn to face Eric's green eyes filled with concern. He pries me off the district two tribute and pulls me over to the elevator. "Why did you stop me?" I ask harsher than I meant to. He pushes the button to close the doors and looks at me. He stands there silently inspecting my face. "Well?" I say when he doesn't answer.

"You were scaring Vincent. Didn't you hear him yelling at you to stop?" he says in a very serious tone. He almost sounded like a teacher.

"Oh" is all I could think to say. Then, "He started it. He had a hidden blade."

"Still, fighting in the training room could easily get you killed in the arena."

"I'm gonna die anyway." I mumble to myself low enough that he can't hear but I swear I see him stiffen and look down at me. I'm to scared of his reaction to look at him though. The rest of the ride is silent. _So much for getting allies. _I think to myself. The elevator doors open to the eleventh floor. He takes me to a huge room where I sit on the soft bed while he goes into a smaller room off the side. I look around the bright room. There is a flat screen TV and one wall is completely made of windows. The curtain are drawn and I can see the city. I walk over to the window and look down. At this height everyone looks like little ants. I start getting a little dizzy at the height. I go back and sit on the bed to wait for Eric to come back. When he comes out he has a wet cloth in his hand and a first aid kit in the other. He sits down next to me and puts his hand on my cheek. I wince a little as he turn my face to his and starts dabbing my cut with the warm cloth. After putting a band-aid on my cheek he spreads a cream over my bruises and the pain slowly seeps out of my nerves. "That stuff is great. What is it?" I ask enthusiastically.

He shrugs and starts putting everything away. "Probably some high-tech capitol stuff made in a lab." the silence that followed was very awkward so after a minute I stand. "Thank you for helping me out but I should get back to training."

He looks up at me and smiles. "No problem, save a dance for me at the ball tonight and we'll call it even"

I feel my face turn pink but nod and leave the room. When I close the door I'm almost out of breath. What was that? He actually seemed like he liked me. _No, that's impossible. He's just getting close so he can kill me in the arena without me suspecting it._ I walk down the long, elegant hallway and get in the elevator. Once I'm back in the training room I apologize to Victor and get back to practice. I'll have to work hard even to have a chance in the arena with these people.

After about five hours of training we get called into a small room with tables for lunch. Victor goes and sits with the District one and three tributes and I sit on my own at the other end. People in white come around and give us plates of food. We get one roll, a bowl of an orange soup that tastes surprisingly good, and a sandwich. When I take a bite to eat Eric sits down next to me and starts eating his soup. I swallow and look at him. "Can I help you?"

"No." he answers, not looking at me.

"Um...OK." I answer and go back to eating my sandwich. We don't talk again until I start ripping pieces of bread off the roll and dipping them in the soup.

"Why don't you go sit with the career pack?" he asks.

"Career pack?"

"You know, the tributes from district's one, two, and four."

I didn't know the tributes from the top districts were called career tributes. "Oh. I'm not good at making friends. I don't even know where to start. Why aren't you sitting over there?"

"I wanted to sit with you. Plus, you looked lonely." he answers.

"Well, thanks." I can't think of anything else to say so I just finish eating and get back to training.

Five hours of training after lunch and I'm about to pass out but sadly I am not done yet. My stylists come get me from the training room and take me to a huge bathroom. They run me a hot bath and strip me. When I step into the water I feel like I'm being dropped into a boiling pot of water. _Now I know how those lobsters felt before we ate them. _

Kathy start scrubbing my hair as Kate starts working on my nails. With the combination of Kathy's sharp nails scraping my scalp and Kate's metal hook cleaning the coal dust from under all twenty of my nails, the pain was almost unbearable. After about thirty minutes, I have gotten as wrinkled as a raisin. They pull me out and wrap a warm, fluffy towel around me and sit me in a salon chair. Kate clips and polishes my nails until they shine like a new penny. She has painted them a dark royal blue that I love.

Kathy is blow drying, brushing, teasing, and styling my hair so fast that I can't keep up. While the girls work on my hair, nail, and makeup, John is in another room finishing up my dress and shoes for the ball. After trying several times to see my reflection, the girls get tired of it and turn the chair around. As shocking as it might sound, the girls constant chatter about how good I will look and the latest gossip actually calmed me down. I start to relax and listen to them. After what felt like hours they ask me to stand up and walk me to the other room.

"Don't I get to see myself?"

"Be patient. You will see after we put you in the dress now close your eyes until you are done."

With an impatient sigh, I close my eyes. I feel them taking away my towel and guiding my feet to step into the dress. Once the dress is on I find it hard to stand still with them tugging on the back of the dress. _What are they doing?_

"OK. Open." I hear John say. I open my eyes and I don't recognize myself. The dress is a royal blue to match my nail. It is strapless and skin tight at the top but gets bigger at the hips. The material looks like satin with jeweled flowers at the top and lines that look like water running down the beautiful dress. There is a thin belt around my waist and my hair is pulled back into a curled pony tail with a bop at the top and a blue ribbon barrette. My eyes have a light smoky eye look and I have pink lips. You can't see any evidence of the fight from earlier either. On my feet I have a black pair of pumps with ribbon tied up my leg, stopping at my knees.

After looking at myself for a while I turn to my stylists. Tears threaten to pour over my cheeks but I wont let the beautiful job they did be ruined that quickly. "You made me beautiful." is all I can say. They run up and hug me so tight that I can't breath but I don't mind. I hug them back and start making my way to get Vincent. _I hope I don't stick out but I do hope some sponsors notice me and maybe Eric, _I thought as I practice walking in these shoes. Vincent meets me in the hall out outside the elevator. He is in a tux and Ethel is in her own dress with makeup and jewelry. He takes my hand and Ethel starts lecturing us on being kind, funny, charming, and to smile big but not to big. When the doors open I can hear the classical music coming from the ball room. We walk to the room where the doors are propped open letting people in and music out.

When we walk in it feels like we walked into a child's story book. The floor is white marble with an indoor balcony with two flights of steps coming off either sides. There is an enormous crystal chandelier. There are candles lining the walls and people dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns dancing, talking, and enjoying the buffet style dinner. The music is just loud enough to be heard over the low rumble of voices coming from reporters. There are flashes coming from random spots at random times whenever a reporter snaps a picture and I silently send god a thank you for not letting me stick out like a weed in a flowering garden.

Vincent runs from me and goes to dance with Rose. She smiles and dances with him so I go to a corner and watch all the people dance. I see Ethel in the crowd trying to get us sponsors when the boy from district four comes up to me.

"Would you like do dance?"


	5. At the Ball

"Would you like to dance?" the boy from District Four asks.

"No, not really. You didn't really make the best impression earlier"

"Aw, come on. I'm sorry about cutting your face and getting in a fight with you. I really am sorry, Jennifer."

"I don't even know your name." I reply

"Really? Well it's Kyle."

I look at him in the eye and he really did seem sorry. With a sigh I take his hand that he has been holding out for me. He smiles and pulls me out to the dance floor. I put my free hand on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around my waist. We just sway to the music for a while before he says anything.

"You really do clean up. Well, I mean, for a girl who got here covered in coal dust."

"Thank you, I think" confusion coloring my voice. He smiles and I feel his hand slide down my back a little, but I dismiss it as my imagination.

"So you came here with the Vincent kid. Right? You said he wasn't your brother. Do you have any siblings?" he asks, making me a little uncomfortable

"Yes, I have an older sister and I had a younger brother." I answer truthfully

"Had?"

"He was out on the lake one year when the ice broke." my voice is a low whisper. "We got to him but he was stuck under the ice, when we broke the ice and got him out we couldn't get him home in time." My eyes begin to burn, and that is all I can bring myself to say. I can't even look Kyle in the eye.

"He froze."

I nod slightly and take a deep breath then look back up at him. "This is getting a bit too personal. Could we please change the subject?"

"Sure thing." I feel his hand move down to my rear end and he pulls me closer. "You really do look great tonight Jen."

I pull away from him in disgust but he pulls me closer. "May I cut in?" I hear a male voice from behind me says. Kyle glares up at him as I pull away and answer for him.

"Sure. We were just done here."

I turn to see Eric looking down at me, a charming smile spread across his face. I take his hand and he pulls me a few feet away from where we were standing. He puts his hand on the small of my back and I place my hand on his shoulder. He smiles down at me and we start to step in time to the music. I try not be obvious while I watch my feet and when I look up to see if he noticed I catch him smiling down at me, his eyes glowing. I blush furiously and look to the side, thankful for the amount of makeup on my face. "You look beautiful Taylor."

"Thank you. You look really nice too." I manage.

"Have you gotten any sponsors yet?"

"No. I don't know what to do. Can I just walk up to them, or do I have to wait for them to see me?"

"I guess you can just walk up to one. I'm sure you will get plenty, don't worry. There are two types of sponsors. There are the ones that only want tributes that will probably win and the others are just in it for the drama."

As I think about it I decide to go for the dramatic angle. That should be pretty easy, or at least easier than convincing them that I could win. They would take one look and walk away. _How could I make it interesting enough to watch me though? _As I think of ways to make myself seem interesting, I notice Eric looking down at me. He is smiling and I feel him pull me a little closer to him, but I don't pull away. I smile a little to myself as he starts drawing circles on the small of my back with his thumb. As we sway in time to the music I let myself lay my head on his chest. My eyes slowly close when a blinding flash ruins the small moment we were having. I jerk my head up to see several photographers surrounding us like a pack of wild boars. I look up at Eric who is still smiling down at me, but I see a hint of mischief in his eyes. Like he knew that this would get us publicity, and therefore sponsors.

I smirk up at him and go back to dancing the night away. We would take breaks and go talk to sponsors, but before I knew it, half the night had passed and people were leaving. We were the last of the people still on the dance floor. When the song ends, I step back and bow my head. "Thank you for the dance Eric. I had fun."

"Would you like me to walk you to the elevator?"

Reaching over, I take his calloused hand in mine. I've never done these kind of things before, but it just feels right with him. When he starts stepping in time with me, he holds my small hand in his. As we walk down the hall, he hums the music that we danced to. I slow my pace a little so I can stay with him a bit longer.

Once we are at the elevator he presses the button and looks at me. When the doors open he lifts my hand to his lips, lightly kissing my knuckles, and says, "Sleep well, Taylor." I feel my face get warm and hold my hand as I step into the small room, pressing the twelfth button.

Once in my room I put on a night gown that was hanging in the closet and, welcoming the cold fabric to my burning skin, lay in bed. As I stare at the ceiling all I can think about is Eric and the way he kissed my hand. My heart races at the thought of his soft lips against my small knuckles.

"_It seems like he likes me, but that's impossible."_ I think to myself._ "He just met me yesterday, but the way he acted when he saw me and when he talk to me. In the ball room was obviously just to get sponsors, but what about the hall? No one was there to see us then." _I lay there babbling to myself for a long time before I accept that I won't be sleeping any time soon.

I get up and change into the outfit I wore the day of the reaping and head out. Taking the elevator to the basement, I walk along the cement hall to the training room. Once inside, I grab a pair of thick gloves and walk to the punching bag. I start hitting it, but it's so much heavier than it seems. The bag starts swinging after the third punch, but I continue without stopping it. I have no idea how long I was down there before I hear the doors open. I ignore them and keep hitting the rough bag. I only stop when I feel a hand on my shoulder. When I throw the next punch I turn and aim for the person's face. Before my fist can collide with their face, it's caught and squeezed. I glare, but relax when I see the green eyes looking at me and the cocky smirk on his face.

"Jesus Eric. I thought you were Kyle." I say, surprised and almost out of breath. His smirk disappears and the light drains from his eyes at the mention of Kyle.

"I don't like the way he treats you." he says quietly. I look away and go back to punching the bag. Not a minute after I started again he pulls me into his arms. I stiffen and blush as he pulls me down to his lap and buries his face in the crook of my neck. I can feel his rapid heartbeat on my back and just the feeling of his heart and his breath tickling my neck is enough to relax me, so slowly I let myself relax into his arms. I don't know why, but I really do feel safe around him.


End file.
